Safeguarding / Prevent

Safeguarding

Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must “make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children”.

At Houghton Primary School we care about every child’s welfare. We want all our children to be happy, healthy and safe. We seek to do this by providing a safe school environment and by identifying children who are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm, taking appropriate action with the aim of making sure they are kept safe both at home and while at school.

We have well established systems in place at our school which are designed to:

Prevent unsuitable people working with children

Promote safe practice and challenge poor and unsafe practice

Identify instances in which there are grounds for concern about a child’s welfare, and initiate or take appropriate action to keep them safe

Contribute to effective partnerships, working with all those involved in providing services for children

At Houghton Primary School we follow best practice in recruitment and employment of staff in order to keep our children safe. All volunteers attend a briefing, work under the supervision of staff and are required to provide references before they can begin to work with us in school on a regular basis. All staff have appropriate training in safeguarding and child protection, following clear policy and procedures.

At Houghton Primary School we endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued. The school is therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.

Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child’s welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The school should make parents/carers aware that records of welfare concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that schools may take advice from other agencies without informing parents/carers.

In accordance with local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service.

Schools will seek advice from Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Designated Person) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.

Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, schools or any person who has care of a child “may….do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare”. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to “hold” a child in school whilst Social Care and the police investigate any concerns further.

On 1 July 2015 the Prevent duty (section 26) of The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 came into force. This duty places the responsibility on local authorities and schools to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.

Houghton Primary School is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its pupils. As a school we recognise that safeguarding against radicalisation is as important as safeguarding against any other vulnerability.

All staff are expected to uphold and promote the fundamental principles of British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. We believe that children should be given the opportunity to explore diversity and understand Britain as a multi-cultural society; everyone should be treated with respect whatever their race, gender, sexuality, religious belief, special need, or disability.

As part of our commitment to safeguarding and child protection Houghton Primary School fully support the values in this statement and the government's Prevent Strategy.

Our strategies and approaches for ensuring that we comply with the statutory duty is outlined in an action plan which provides information about risk assessment, working in partnership, staff training and IT Policies. Please click here to access the Action Plan.

Our designated trained child protection team in school:

Georgina Young Headteacher

Frances Smith Deputy Head

Nicola Sharpe SEND Support and Inclusion Worker

Marianne Brock Phoenix Childcare Facility Manager

Marina Hilton Link Governor for Child Protection and Safeguarding

The designated lead for Prevent is Georgina Young (Headteacher). Frances Smith (Deputy Head) has also had the Prevent Lead training.

All members of staff have had Prevent training and new members have it as part of their induction.